APRM • SECOND COUNTRY REVIEW REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA reflect the local conditions and the preferences of the people. The intents and purposes of the Constitution of Kenya and the various policy documents underscore these attributes directly and indirectly. 2.41 The general perception of the people of Kenya about devolution is strongly positive and profound. Specifically, the consensus across the broad spectrum of the society is that devolution of functions is a good model of governance for the country. It is also largely acknowledged that devolution has only operated four years; and so, it is still at the embryonic stage, for it has a high chance of success. The testimonies during the consultative forums by the CRM were that infrastructure, healthcare, roads, education, among others, have improved with devolution. 2.42 However, there are threats to devolution. The capacity of the county governments, in terms of institutional structures, is structurally weak to cope with effective service delivery. Inadequate manpower, and lack of openness, accountability and transparency in the use of financial resources are major challenges. Public participation in the budget and planning process is still very low (or not in existence) in most of the counties. The various special funds, which contribute to service delivery and employment, are poorly managed. There is a need for vigorous civic education through radio and television programmes, seminars, debates about all aspects of devolution, stressing the benefits. The consultation process needs to be strengthened to ensure a buy-in by a significant segment of the society. More specifically, some of the other key challenges to devolution include: · The enormous overall cost of running the devolved system of governance & the runaway wage bill; and · The devolved system’s evolving role simultaneously as generator of, and solution to, threats to national unity. Containing the overall cost of the devolved system and the ballooning wage bill 2.43 With 47 devolved units and numerous administrative units below the county level, the new system of governance has led to a significant expansion of the public sector wage bill. This is not only as a result of increased employment levels at both levels of government but also the increase in the number of elective positions. There are more than 700,000 workers in Kenya’s public sector, majority earning fairly modest wages. However, there have been concerns that due to an increasing wage bill, government is increasingly reallocating funds from the capital budget to recurrent expenditure. The downside is that this undermines development. Moreover, as government tries to borrow in order to maintain a positive economic growth outlook, it increasingly expands the public debt while crowding out the private sector from the domestic money market. 2.44 Under the circumstances, rationalization of human resources within the public sector remains critical. The Panel is gratified that Kenya has taken steps to address the issue under the Capacity Assessment and Rationalisation of the Public Service (CARPS). Another area that the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) will have to rationalise in containing | 42 |